Suction cleaner



F. L. PlERCE ETAL SUCTION CLEANER Filed Jan. 29, 1940 s F N MN am Y 5 Nc E QQN Q 3 m w MN 5 v .LZM m v mm n g Au 3, 1943. F. L. PIERCE ETAL SUCTION CLEANER Filed Jan. 29. 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 vaa I NVENTORS Pier-0e,

Wan/Z z.

arry 8, Wife &

fin cas A. Wial'er f/ ATTORNEY Aug. 3, 1943. F. L PIERCE ETAL SUCTION CLEANER Filed Jan. 29, 1940 55 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORS Frank L. Pierce 7 Harry B. Whiie &-

W T T A Patented Aug. 3, 1943 2,325,796 SUCTION CLEANER Frank L. Pierce, Garden City, N. Y., Harry'B. White, North Canton, Ohio, and Uncas A. Whitaker, New York, N. Y., asslgnors to The Hoover Company, North Canton, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application January 29, 1940, Serial No. 316,092

10 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in suction cleaners and more particularly to an improved suction cleaner design calculated to increase its stability during floor cleaning operations and at the same time provide a convenient means for maintaining the nozzle at a substantially uniform height above the carpet surface.

ne desirable feature of a handle-maneuvered portable suction cleaner is its ability to adjust the height of the nozzle to the particular type of carpet 'being cleaned and especially fromone extreme to the other of carpet conditions as might be exemplified by a change from a thin fioor covering to a soft thick carpet or rug. Various means have heretofore been devised for adjusting the supporting wheels to raise or lower the nozzle, although one of the most effective ways of obtaining the proper relationship between the height of the nozzle and the particular carpet being cleaned and without the use of any adjusting mechanism, is the provision of front wheels having wide tread surfaces and capable of riding upon the carpet surface with a limited depth of penetration or sinking into the carpet nap. But to render these wide front wheels efiective as non-nap penetrating supports it is essential that they be relieved of much of the force exerted through the handle in maneuvering the cleaner over the carpet. Now, this result can be accomplished in a large measure by mounting the handle on the cleaner body directly above the rear wheels, so that the vertical component of the downward force exerted through the handle in moving the cleaner in a forward direction is transmitted to the floor through the rear wheels, thus leaving the front wheels comparatively free to support the weight of the cleaner plus the more or less constant downward force of suction exerted at the nozzle.

However, there are many makes of cleaners in which the handle has a U-shaped bail pivotally mounted at the sides of the body and substantially midway of its ends. Also, there are cleaners so designed that the pivotal mounting of the handle cannot be shifted to the rear, as for example, where the motor and fan are housed within a cylindrical casing supported upon a wheeled frame for rotation about a horizontal transverse axis and with the handle mounted directly upon the rotative casing and therefore rotative about the same axis. Thus, where the handle is mounted near the center of mass of the cleaner body or well forwardly of its rear end portion, the conditions necessary for maintaining a constant nozzle height for all carpets can best be achieved by shifting the rearmo st supporting wheels forwardly to a position below or slightly to the rear of the pivotal axis of the handle.

However, this change in wheel location affects the stability of the cleaner giving it a definite tendency to tilt in a rearwardly direction, and particularly when the handle is lowered from a vertical orupright position and released. But this instability can be overcome by mounting an auxiliary wheel or a pair of auxiliary wheels on the underside of the cleaner body beyond the rearmost supporting wheels and well to the extreme rear end thereof. These auxiliary wheels may either be journalled on fixed bearings and elevated so that they are not in contact with the carpet surface during normal cleaning operations, as illustrated in Figure 7, or carried upon a hinged spring-pressed bracket to ride in contact with the carpet surface but yieldable to permit of a limited backward tilting of the cleaner body.

There is, moreover, another advantage in per- -mitting the cleaner to tilt rearwardly when at carpet in order to avoid any possibility of undue carpet wear, and the auxiliary wheels mounted at the rear end of the cleaner body brings about the attainment of this secondary function simply by allowing the cleaner to tilt backwardly in the act of lowering the handle rearwardly, from an upright or so-called storage position.

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a stable design for a cleaner which is not only self-adjusting as regards the height of the nozzle during ordinary floor-cleaning operation, but which will also insure the lifting of the nozzle out of contact with the carpet surface while the cleaner is at rest and the cleaning is being done by use of the dusting tools.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is disclosed in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a general view in side elevation of a suction cleaner equipped with a third pair of auxiliary wheels and functioning to support the cleaner in its backward tilted position with the nozzle raised and converted for dusting tool operation;

Figure 2 is an enlarged view in vertical section through the axis of the motor and fan as taken Figure is an enlarged view of the cleaner body in side elevation with the nozzle portion shown in section; and

Figure 6 is a bottom plan view of the cleaner showing the mounting of the auxiliary wheels.

Figure '7 is a side view of a suction cleaner positioned in operating relationship to a supporting surface and which is equipped with a third pair of auxiliary wheels which are fixedly mounted on the cleaner.

As previously stated, the suction cleaner herein disclosed is of the portable handle-maneuvered type consisting generally of a. wheeled frame l, supporting a centrally located cylindrical casing 2 pivotally mounted at its ends in trunnions 3 at the upper ends of the side frame members la of the frame I and forming the fan chamber and motor housing of a suction-creating unit rotative bodily about a horizontal transverse axis. The handle 4, by which the cleaner is maneuvered, is connected directly with the rotative cylindrical casing2, being fitted into an upwardly and rearwardly opening socket 5 arranged .tangentially and centrally of the cylindrical casing.

At the forward end of the frame I is a nozzle casing 6 having a downwardly facing suction mouth extending transversely across the forward end of the cleaner and having a pair of hollow sections 6a, 8a extending rearwardly and straddling the ends of the cylindrical casing 2. One of these hollow sections forms a passageway for the air from the nozzle chamber to an inlet opening I to the fan chamber occupying the adjacent end portion of the cylindrical casing 2 and the other.

forming a passageway for a belt 8 which drives a rotary fioor contacting member or agitator 9 extending lengthwise of the nozzle and directly above the suction mouth. The belt 8 is driven directly from the shaft ill of the motor housed.

within the remaining portion of the cylindrical casing 2 and has direct driving connection with the fan ll located in the fan chamber.

The fan chamber is characterized by an exhaust outlet 12 extending tangentially therefrom and in a general rearwardly and upwardly inclined direction and terminating in a flanged outlet connection l2a. to which is removably attached the inlet end of a dirt bag l3 extending along the underside of the handle and suspended at its upper end therefrom.

The cleaner assembly thus described is sup ported upon pairs of front and rear wheels l4, l4

and I5, l5 journalled on suitable bearings carried by the frame I. The front wheels are positioned just rearwardly of the nozzle suction mouth, while the rear supporting wheels are located to the rear of the frame but forwardly of the extreme rear ends thereof. The axis of the rear wheels will be more definitely located later, but for the moment attention will be directed to the relative sizes of the wheels. The front wheels are practically twice the diameter of the rear' wheels and having tread surfaces at least twice as -wide, if not more than twice as wide, as the rear wheels and which are of the size generally used. And, without going into the subject of regulating the height of the nozzle to the particular type of carpet being cleaned, it will be sufiicient to say that other conditions being properly established, these wide front wheels will support the forward end of the cleaner so that the nozzle assumes approximately the correctheight for the mcst effective cleaning, regardless of the character of the carpet surface, its texture or depth of nap.

Referring now more in detail to the location of the front and rear supporting wheels already identified, as well as the auxiliary wheels still to be identified, it may be stated that the front wheels, journaled as they are on fixed bearings,

are located in their customary position behind the nozzle, whereas the rear wheels, also journalled on fixed bearings, are positioned somewhat forwardly of the extreme rear ends of the frame I as previously observed, the reason for this particular location being to bring their common axis as near as possible to the axis of rotation of the casing 2 and which is also that of the handle 4, or to state the reason more accurately, to bring the center of rotation of the handle as closely as possible to a point above the axis of the rear wheels.

In view of the general design of the cleaner. it would obviously be impossible to locate the axis of rotation of the handle directly above the rear wheels since this would bring the latter almost directly behind and in contact with the front wheels. Hence, the nearest approach to a condition in which the forces exerted through the handle will be transmitted largely to the rear wheels is one accompanied by increased instability but which is counteracted by the addition of auxiliary wheels l8, H5 (or wheels, if desired) mounted rearwardly and beyond the regular supporting wheels.

As clearly shown in Figures 5 and 6, these auxiliary wheels I6, l6 preferably take the form of a caster consisting of two standard sized wheels mounted upon an axle II supported at the outer end of a bracket I8 having hinged mounting on a rod [9 extending transversely between the rear ends of the side frame members la, la, the bracket itself extending rearwardly and generally in a horizontal direction.

The extreme ends of the side frame members la, la, project beyond the hinge pin 19 in the form of ears 2!], 20 which project over the crossmemlwr No of the bracket and act to limit the swinging movement of the auxiliary wheels toward the cleaner body. The bracket is also limited in its swinging movement in a downward direction by the engagement of the rear edge of the cross-member l8a of the bracket with the ends of the frame members as at 2|, 2|, so that the entire vertical displacement of the auxiliary 'wheels is brought within a range of something like A; of an inch, which should be sufficient for all practical purposes, although it can be readily increased if greater nozzle elevation is needed. And finally, a torsion spring 22 carried on the hinge pin l9 acts upon the auxiliary wheel carrying bracket [8 to hold the wheels yieldingly in contact with thecarpet surface and under tension, so that they will not swing freely as the cleaner is maneuvered back and forth over the carpet surface during normal carpet cleaning operation.

To control the rotative movement of the casing 2 by the handle 4, a cam-like sector 23 is mounted on the underside of the casing as shown in Figures 5 and 6 and extends throughout an arc of approximately degrees. This sector is engaged by a spring-pressed roller detent 24 mounted on the nozzle casing I just forwardly of the casing 2, there being a suitable notch or stop at each end of the sector to limit the arc through which the casing and handle rotate, namely, from a position in which the handle stands upright as inFigure 5, to a rearwardly extending lowered or horizontal position.

Thus, when the cleaner is-not operating and,

the handle is swung into its upright position, the

weight is distributed fairly evenly between the cleaner to tilt backwardly until the handle or the exhaust outlet strikes the floor, were it not for the stabilizing effect of the auxiliary wheels. As it is, these wheels permit a limited backward tilting of the cleaner, but just enough to raise the nozzle. slightly above its normal position and preparatory to converting the cleaner for dusting tool operation.

In a cleaner of the type herein disclosed, the converter port 25 is most conveniently located at one side of the cleaner body and concentric with the inlet opening 1 to the fan chamber. More definitely, the converter port 25 is located at the upper end of the air inlet passage from the nozzle chamber, being simply a circular hole or opening in the side wall of the nozzle casing section to and normally covered by a removable circular plate 26 held in place by spring clips 25a (Figures 5 and 6). I

To accomplish the converting operation, it is only necessary to remove the cover plate over the converter port and to insert the converter member or fitting 2? carried at the end of the dusting tool hose 28 through the port and into the inlet opening to the fan chamber whereupon the force of suction is thereby transferred from the nozzle to the dusting tool hose (Figures 1 and 2).

But even with the converter member inserted, it is still possible for the rotary floor contacting member a to continue its beating or brushing action upon the carpet surface, inasmuch as it remains connected with the motor and the handle 4 may not have been lowered from its upright position. Hence, it is desirable to provide means for making certain that the conversion to dusting-tool operation cannot be completed until the cleaner has been tilted back upon its auxiliary wheels by the weight of the handle in its lowered position and again, that the cleaner cannot be tilted forwardly once more until after the converter member has been detached.

Thus referring to Figures 2, 3 and 4, it will be noted first of all that the converter member 27 has the general form of an elbow with its right angular tubular end portion 210. just the proper length to pass through the converter port 25 and to seat in the inlet opening to the fan chamber. As shown in Figure l, the converter member 21 is tilted forwardly at an angle of 45 degrees when properly fitted into its port, this angular position being detemiined by a longitudinally arranged rib or key 21b extending along the top of the entering end portion 27a of the converter member and adapted to register with a complementary notch 250, at the upper edge of the converter port 25 (Figure 6). And lastly, a spring clip 21c mounted on the undersideof gaging the edge of the converter port as the converter member is seated.

But in addition to the key and notch engagement in the act of inserting the converter member into its port, there is also formed on the forward edge of the converter member 21 and in diametrically opposed relation to the key 21b 9. short projecting lug 29. And finally, in the,

lower marginal portion of the inlet opening I to the fan chamber, there is provided a much wider notch 30 extending throughout an arc of about- 90 degrees, as shown in Figure 4.

Now, since ,the inlet opening .I to the fan chamber is actually formed in the endplate of the rotatlve casing 2, in which the fan chamber is formed, it followsthat the arcuate notch '30 shifts its position in a circular path as the casing rotates upon its horizontal axis and with the handle 4. Thus, when the handle is swing from its upright position to say, an angle of about 45 degrees as shown in Figure 1, the arcuate notch the converter member locks the same by en- 76 30 in the edge of the inlet opening 1 is brought into the position shown in Figure 4, and only in this position can the converter member be properly seated into the converter port 25, since otherwise the lug 29 would strike the edge of the inlet opening at some point other than between the ends of the notch 30 and this would prevent the proper seating of the converter member in the inlet opening to the fan chamber. In other words, the converting operation cannot be completed until the handle has first been lowered into a position to tilt the cleaner backwardly and raise the nozzle, nor can it be swung into an upright position without first removing the converter member. In this way, the raising of the nozzle out of contact with the carpet surface is insured during dusting tool operation and simply by making it impossible for the cleaner to tilt forwardly while the dusting tools are in use.

But the essential feature of the disclosure is the mounting of six wheels on the cleaner body, thus making it possible to take advantage of the uniform or constant nozzle height feature without being confined to the positioning of the handle mounting at the rear of the body or departing'in other respects from a standard or accepted design in order to insure the desired degree of stability under all operating conditions.

Having disclosed a preferred embodiment of the invention but without limiting the same to the specific features shown,

We claim:

1. In a suction cleaner, the combination of a body, front and rear supporting wheels mounted on said body with the center of mass of said body substantially nearer said rear wheels than said front wheels, a handle pivotally mounted on said body to swing in a vertical plane from front to rear, means for limiting the rearward swinging movement of said handle to a lowered position short of contact with the floor, and an auxiliary wheel mounted on said body rearwardly beyond the rearmost supporting wheels and adapted to limit the backward tilting of said body under the weight of said handle when released in its lowered position.

2. In a suction cleaner, the combination of a body, front and rear supporting wheels mounted on said body with the rear wheels positioned substantially below the center of mass of said body, a handle pivotally mounted on said body and adapted to swing forwardly and rearwardly, means for limiting the rearward swinging moveered position.

ment of said handle to a lowered position short of contact with the floor, and an auxiliary wheel mounted rearwardly oi said supporting wheels and adapted to prevent said body from tilting over backwardly under the weight of said handle in its lowered position. i

3. In a suction cleaner, the combination of a body, pairs of front and rear supporting wheels carried by said body and positioned with the center of mass of said body between said wheels but substantially nearer the rear wheels, a handle pivotally mounted on said body and adapted to swing rearwardly and downwardly'from a vertical position, means for limiting the downward swinging movement of the handle to a lowered position short of contact with the floor, and an auxiliary wheel mounted on said body rearwardly of said supporting wheels and adapted to limit the backward tilting of said body under the weight of said handle when released in its lowered position.

4. In a suction cleaner, the combination of a body including a suction-creating unit having an exhaust outlet, a filter bag attached at said exhaust outlet, pairs of supporting wheels mounted on the underside of said body with the center of mass of said body substantially above the rearmost supporting wheels, a handle pivotally mounted on said body and supporting the outer end of said filter bag, means for limiting the downward swinging movement of said handle to a lowered position short of contact with the floor, and an auxiliary wheel mounted on said body rearwardlybeyond said supporting wheels and acting to limit the backward tilting of said body under the weight of said handle and the contents of said filter bag when said handle is released in its lowered position.

5. In a suction cleaner, the combination of a body including suction-creating means, pairs of supporting wheels mounted adjacent the forward and rear ends of said body, a handle pivotally mounted on said body at a point intermediate said front and rear supporting wheels and substantially near its center of mass, means for limiting the swinging movement of said handle rearwardly and downwardly to a position short of contact with the floor, and auxiliary wheels movably mounted on said body beyond said rear supporting wheels for limited vertical displaceient and acting to limit the backward tilting movement of said body under the weight of said handle when dropped into lowered position.

6. In a suction cleaner, the combination of a body comprising suction-creating means, pairs of supporting wheels mounted on said body and spaced lengthwise thereof with the rearmost supporting wheels positioned substantially nearer the center of mass of said body than the foremost wheels, a handle pivotally mounted on said body to swing about a horizontal transverse axis intermediate said supporting wheels, means for limiting the swinging movement of said handle to a lowered position substantially horizontal but short of contact with the floor, and an auxiliary wheel mounted on said body beyond the rearmost supporting wheel through the medium of a pivoted spring-pressed bracket adapted to permita limited vertical displacement of said auxiliary wheel and the corresponding limited backward tilting of said body under the weight of said handle when released in its low- 7. In a suction cleaner, the combination of a body comprising a suction-creating unit rotative assavee about a horizontal transverse axis and pairs body intermediate said supporting wheels but substantially nearer the rearmost of said wheels, a handle mounted on said rotative suction-creating unit and adapted to swing therewith in its rotatlve movement, means for limiting the rotation of said casing to prevent said handle from contacting the floor in its lowermost position, and auxiliary wheels carried by a spring-pressed bracket having limited pivotal mounting at the rear end of said body and acting to permit a limited backward tilting movement of said body when under the weight of said handle in its lowered position, the spring of said bracket being sufliciently resilient to flex under said weight.

8. In a suction cleaner, the combination of a frame, having front and rear-supporting wheels, a suction-creating unit mounted on said' frame and having a converter port adapted to receive a converter member, a nozzle communicating with the fan chamber of said suction-creating unit, a handle mounted to swing to and from an upright position, means for limiting the downward swinging movement of the handle to a position short of contact with the floor, an auxiliary wheel mounted at the rear end of said body for limiting the backward tilting movement of said body when said handle is shifted from upright position, the weight of the handle and attached parts being sufllcient to tilt the body rearwardly when in a lowered position, and means for preventing the insertion of said converter member into its port when said handle is in a substantially upright position.

9. In a suction cleaner, the combination of a wheeled body comprising a casing rotative about a horizontal transverse axis, a suction-creating unit within said casing, a nozzle connecting with the fan chamber of said suction-creating unit, means for converting said suction-creating unit for dusting tool operation including a port leading to said fan chamber and a converter member adapted to be inserted therein, a handle mounted on said rotative casing, means for limiting the rotative movement of said casing to an arc defined substantially by the vertical and rearwardly extended positions of the handle, an auxiliary wheel mounted at the rear end of said body for limiting the backward tilting movement of said body when said handle is lowered from upright position, the weight of the handle and attached parts being sufficient to tilt the body rearwardly when in a lowered position, and means for preventing the insertion of said converter member into its port when said handle is in a substantially upright position.

10. A suction cleaner of the character described, including: a casing having a downwardly opening nozzle at the forward end thereof; suction means connected to the nozzle; a rotatable cleaning member in the nozzle normally in contact with the material being cleaned; a motor for rotating the rotatable cleaning member; a handle pivotally attached to the casing means on the casing to limit the movement of a the handle upon its rearward and downward movement beyond that to be expected in normal usage, the weight of the otherwise unsupported handle when positioned by the stop means being sufiicient to shift the center of gravity to the rear of the main supporting wheels whereby releasing the handle automatically causes the cleaner to pivot about the axis of said wheels to elevate the nozzle and lift the rotatable cleaning it to support the cleaner in position with the 5 nozzle elevated.

FRANK L. PIERCE. HARRY vvm'rn. UNCAS A. 

